Here are just a few of the partnerships that helped the homeless at UGM in 2018.

Generous bakers: Emily, Abbie, Alivia and Susie, a group of girls from Grace Christian Fellowship, used their summer break to organize a bake sale to give the proceeds to the Crisis Shelter for Women and Children.

Commencement: For the fifth year in a row, Valley Assembly hosted our LIFE Recovery Commencement, a celebration of 21 men and women who completed the program and returned to society as contributing members. Lending their facility for this celebration each June is one of many ways Valley Assembly partners with UGM.

A winning combination: This summer marked the 30th year of UGM youth camp! It has grown from a handful of teenage campers in 1989 to 464 children this summer thanks to the eight local churches who partnered with UGM to reach children from their low-income neighborhoods, conduct camp activities and disciple them when they got back home. 176 children at camp made a commitment to follow Jesus!

Serving side by side: “Rooted” discipleship groups from North Church, Eastpoint Church, Life Center, Cheney Faith Center, River City Church and Valley Real Life came to UGM to serve meals during 2018. Training members to live out their faith by serving others, Rooted brought 351 church members face to face with their homeless neighbors to love them in Jesus’ name.

A place to play: Northwest Farm Credit Services provided funding for new playground equipment for the children at Anna Ogden Hall. A group of volunteers from NFCS came multiple times to install the equipment and upgrade the landscaping in the area.

Returning the love: Vickie Proctor became one of many UGM alumni who decide to give back after they move out. Vickie comes in once a week to volunteer at the Center for Women and Children. “Because of the staff and everybody here that loves us and speaks truth into us, it’s helped me to change, to be a better person and a better mom. And I’m forever grateful for the UGM.”

Pulling a U-turn: On October 10, World Homeless Day, UGM volunteers, staff, and residents joined together to help improve Downtown Spokane, which has seen an increase in the visibility of homelessness. Teams spread out downtown to wave signs and paint over graffiti. As he painted, Nicholas, a UGM recovery resident, recalled how he used to be in a gang and had done his share of “tagging” – and now that Christ has changed his life, he’s helping to fix the problem!

Summer impact: Over the summer, the college students who live and serve at the Student Impact Center deepened their relationships with students and the East Central Neighborhood by hosting Impact Nights for teens and Young Club activities for preteens three days a week. More than 80 at-risk kids received the love of Christ through these remarkable young adults this summer!

Turkey delight: The City-Wide Thanksgiving Dinner was underwritten by RESCUE! and served by a large group of their employees. They gave more than 900 people a warm welcome and sumptuous turkey dinner. Hundreds of other volunteers also contributed to provide security, direction, and distribute gifts of socks, hats, gloves and scarves to guests.

A pig blessing: The managers of several Les Schwab locations in North Idaho purchased the biggest pig at the North Idaho State Fair – 355 pounds, raised by Cole Brennan – to donate to UGM. Bystanders who learned of their intentions jumped in to purchase additional pigs to donate. A few weeks later, local Les Schwab managers did the same at the Spokane Interstate Fair. Mountain View Custom Meats donated the processing of the animals, providing hundreds of pounds of high-quality protein to feed the hungry at our shelters.

By the truckload: Food Services of America donated more than 300,000 pounds of food in 2018. An astonishing total of 7,700 tons of food was donated from all sources. This wonderful generosity meant we had an abundance to serve and to share with our food distribution partners.

Speaking of eating: More than 540 people crossed the finish line at the Hunger Run, a collaborative event with Second Harvest to raise awareness and fight hunger in our community. In defiance of cold, rainy weather, the runners and event sponsors Safeway/Albertsons raised enough to provide 3,000 nutritious meals at UGM alone.

Furnishing strong: For his Eagle Scout project, 18-year-old Jamison Farace made a picnic table for the Crisis Shelter. Jamison used his own money for high-quality cedar and challenged himself with the project: “I had never done a construction project before.” The women at the Crisis Shelter – and the children especially – love to use the table to share meals and snacks on the patio.

Spokes women: Princess Pedalfest, a Hayden bike ride for women which embraced UGM as a cause, raised a whopping $9,000 for the Center for Women and Children in Coeur d’Alene.

Redirected ride: Pat Holmstead donated her 2001 Yamaha V-Star motorcycle to UGM Motors after her doctor told her she couldn’t ride anymore after her hip replacement. Pat wanted her “baby” to go somewhere meaningful and knew her donation would give food, shelter, and life transformation to people in need. Hundreds of other donors generously gave more than 1,000 cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats and RVs to support services for the homeless.

Feeling inspired? Click here for more ideas about how you can help the homeless at UGM.